Consumerism in everyday life is generally considered to be negative. Consuming as much as we do in western civilisation, can give us a sense of false needs. One could suggest that it is capitalism that promotes false needs, and that consumerism is a way of controlling the public. Often the cause is cited as media. Most theorists believe that what the producer advertises through mass media such as commercials influences what the consumer buys. Eventually, material goods become commodities and extensions of peoples daily lives. However in Chapter nine of ‘Key Themes in Media Theory’, theorist John Fiske argues otherwise.
Fiske believes that popular culture is determined by the people, not by the producers of the culture industry, we are not controlled by consumerism, but rather we control it. For example when cultural or media products are put out into society, it is the public that determines whether or not said products become popular, in which case they then become a ‘necessity’ in everyday life. One of Fiske’s most relevant arguments is that of ‘consumer resistance.’ Fiske propses two kinds of resistance’ semiotic resistance and evasive resistance. Semiotic resistance acts as oppositional towards texts, and evasive, escapes meaning altogether, to create pleasure for the body. A prime example of evasive resistance is witnessed in the playing of ‘Video Games.’ Many studies have shown that gamers release endorphins for the players . They also don’t have to question the context of a video game, because there is no cause to argue the context. Fiske suggests that semiotic resistance is more prominent in females, and cites Madonna fans as an example. He suggests that some fans identify with her ‘rebellious feminist’ persona. The fans are then able to weave those aspects into their personal lives using Madonna’s persona to empower themselves as well as it also
having an effect on their daily lives and the way they treat people.
Fiske goes as far to call Madonna’s fans “guerilla fighters” meaning they identify with Madonna to empower their status in an almost aggressive manner, chapter nine also hosts the ideas of theorist Michel De Certeau. De Certau’s question is how can a whole society “manipulate the mechanisms of discipline and conform to them only to evade them.” He coined the term ‘poaching’, in which we use certain tactics. For example if we speed read through a book,this is ‘poaching,’ because we are avoiding the actual context which can only be understood by taking careful time and concentration. De Certau believes that in order to poach, the individual must have a certain tactic for getting around the task. The ‘tactic’ seeks no space for its self, it is not stealing, rather it consumes time. To define ‘tactics’ De Certau introduces ‘La Perruque.’ In this tactic the worker avoids delivering work for his employer but instead uses office time to produce his own enjoyment, for activites that would be describes as creative, and not “directed to work profit.”
All in all both theorists make interesting points about consumerism, and its different aspects. Although very different from each other, they both agree that consumerism whether it be financial, economic, or cultural, could not sustain it’s self with out the people deciding what is popular. I think Fiske goes over board when suggesting that Pop fans are ‘guerilla fighters,’ however he makes an interesting point in saying that it is not just media advertisements that create consumerism, which is the sole argument for many theorists. Fiske was clearly inspired by De Certau’s theory but evolved and weaved it into popular culture. Over all, I believe that the nature in which we consume is an equal combination of excessive advertising, but also the consumer’s choice that creates popular products in today’s society